Reflections on Web Literacy Training

Over the course of the last eight weeks I have learned so much about the web that I can now call myself "web literate". I have always been able to read for understanding and write factually -- even with a bit of scepticism. But now I can say I am educated enough about web grammar, search engines, and domain names; about the content standards in New York state that address internet and technology use; and even about the nature of inquiry itself and what makes a great question.
I have become fascinated by the teachings of Alan November in his book Web Literacy for Educators and have joined in his Building Learning Communities project. I have made is a personal professional development goal to expand my knowledge in this area and to implement web-based technologies in all my classes in order to develop a community of learners. I plan to attend the summer conference called BLC 10 in Boston this summer from July 14-16. (Maybe I'll see you there.)
The most striking aspect of my learning has been the idea of focusing on the ethical use of information found online. My students are masters of cut and paste assignments. They can construct a powerpoint presentation that would blow your mind - even if they understand very little of the content. As detectives, they can put facts in sequential order--facts they have never verified nor written themselves. By framing web assignments as ethics assignments where students ethical use of another's writing or image will be examined and graded, students do remarkable better on these same powerpoint presentations. They, themselves become more expert on a topic when researching it through this lens. I think it is brilliant. And it is in many ways one of the most important aspects of Web literacy.